Things fall apart

The weather may be cooling down, but the film season in Shanghai is definitely hotting up in preparation for the brace of movies collectively known as hesuipian (films released around Chinese New Year). But if you've already had your fill of action-packed blockbusters, then a newly-released Iranian film offers a very different cinematic experience.

A Separation is the work of 40-year-old director and screenwriter Asghar Farhadi, and focuses on a dispute between two Iranian families that takes place over a single week. Despite its relatively modest $800,000 budget, the film has met with almost universal acclaim since it premiered on February 9, 2011 at the 29th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran.

A Separation became the first Iranian film ever to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, and picked up the same gong at the Golden Globes. In Berlin, it picked up the Golden Bear Award for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor.

A Chinese-dubbed version of the film has been on release on the Chinese mainland since November 13.

Better environment

The story begins with Simin (Leila Hatami) going to court to seek a divorce from her husband Nader (Peyman Moaadi). Simin wants to move abroad for a better life for their daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). Nader refuses to leave because he has to take care of his father who has Alzheimer's Disease. Distraught and frustrated, Simin moves into her mother's home. And unable to take care of his father on his own, Nader hires a maid, Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to help at home while he goes to the office.

This in itself is a dangerous arrangement in Iran because it violates very strict Islamic codes concerning contact between unrelated or unmarried men and women. Things get worse when Razieh miscarries her baby, a tragedy that her husband, Hodjat (Shahab Hosseini) blames on Nader, accusing him of injuring his wife and demanding 40 million rials ($3262.64) in compensation.　　

Compared with more mainstream films that attempt to deal with supposedly more important issues in life such as war, politics, and "good versus evil," A Separation is a very personal tale that focuses on just two families. The daily news and troubles that we hear about Iran and its relationship with the wider world is barely touched upon in the 123-minute film.

"In terms of great scriptwriting and a low budget, A Separation should embarrass not a few filmmakers in China and, in terms of moral discipline, the devotion of Iranians to Allah should remind the majority of Chinese people of the importance of introspection," Jiang Xiaoyu, a well-known Chinese film critic wrote on his sina microblog. "I hope that in the future China can also bring forth movies with such profound and thought-provoking themes as A Separation."

Self-confrontation

Although the confrontation between the families constitutes the main plot of the film, it is the self-conflict within the leading characters that leaves a deeper impression on the audience. In one of the more heartrending scenes, Razieh doesn't dare to make an oath of honesty on a copy of the Koran.

According to Islamic beliefs, to lie is a unforgivable sin, and a person who is guilty of lying may suffer terrible retribution in the future.

In the film, Nader, Simin, Razieh and Hodjat are all fundamentally good, upright people, but when their interests are put in danger, some yield to intolerable pressure as they struggle with their own morality and self-discipline.

"The bigger confrontation is the one the individual has with him or herself," Farhadi told the Guardian in an interview last year. "When we talk about self-confrontations, we are speaking about moral issues rather than social issues."

And although the story takes place in Iran, the social phenomena reflected in the film have universal significance, but are particularly resonant for developing countries. The distinct social and economic gap between the two families, as well as the significance of children's education, are both themes that Chinese audiences will relate to in this film.

Everyone's a critic: Strained relations

Zhang Tingting

21, student

"I'm an atheist, but this film surprised me with Iranian people's devotion to their god. It made me think that perhaps religious law can sometimes work better than secular law."

Zhou Peng

44, teacher

"I think the film is really thought-provoking. Although we may live in different countries, we humans are faced with the same kind of problems and dilemmas in life, such as the relationship between husband and wife, the way parents influence their kids, and whether we can remain honest in ever-changing situations."

Hu Minjie

27, engineer

"I think the story is ordinary enough, but it is well developed. However, some of the hand-held camera work made me feel dizzy watching the film."